


Borderlands: By Request

by pagerunner



Category: Borderlands
Genre: Ficlets, M/M, Tumblr Prompts, gayperion
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 15:58:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,701
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6085915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pagerunner/pseuds/pagerunner
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ficlets, shorts, and scribblings based on writing prompts. These are all Rhys/Vaughn at the moment, but I'll tag as applicable if other things come up.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Rhys/Vaughn angst. I steered it sideways into hurt/comfort--in part, I admit, because I, too, had a nasty headache at the time...

There wasn’t really a surefire cure for Rhys’ headaches. Some days, the pills helped. On others, even that was a lost cause. If Vaughn came home to a quiet apartment with the lights all low and Rhys lying somewhere with one arm flung over his eyes, he knew it was one of _those_ days. And then it was his turn to help, in one way or other.

On that particular day, Rhys barely even reacted to Vaughn walking in on him, and so Vaughn sat cautiously beside him on the bed, trying to decide what might do any good.

In the end, he figured a comforting hand wouldn’t hurt.

Rhys mumbled a little when Vaughn’s hand landed on his shoulder, but he didn’t exactly say anything. Still, he didn’t protest either when Vaughn started plumping up pillows and urging Rhys to budge up into a better-supported position. Rhys looked a little gray, but he sighed with more relief with pain when he settled back down. Vaughn decided to take that as a promising sign.

“You doing okay in there?” Vaughn said, brushing Rhys’ hair back from one temple. Rhys made a face, but he also offered a weary joke.

“Well, I’m not dead. Although I kinda wondered for a while if that was the better option.”

“Oh, stop that,” Vaughn chided. Rhys batted his hand away, but eventually thought better of it. His wrist swiveled, and he reached out for Vaughn instead. Soon enough their fingers were intertwined, their hands resting on the pillows between them.

At that, Vaughn lay down, too, resting on one side and looking across the bed at Rhys. “Is company okay. then?” he asked softly.

“Company’s fine. As long as company doesn’t shout.”

“Maybe I’ll tapdance and sing instead.”

“If you do, I will eviscerate you with a spork.”

Vaughn grinned, and then on sudden impulse, bent forward to kiss Rhys’ curled fingers. He heard a little, hitching breath, felt Rhys’ hand tighten around his, but Rhys didn’t say anything, not yet. Vaughn waited a while. Finally Rhys tilted his head. His eyes looked tired, still half-lidded, but a little of the usual glint was coming back.

And he was so damn close that Vaughn couldn’t really help himself.

So Vaughn bent in the rest of the way and kissed him properly, soft and slow. He let it linger until Rhys made a small, muted moan that didn’t sound like it was indicating discomfort at all. And when Vaughn drew back, enough color had risen in Rhys’ cheeks that he looked _much_ better, really.

 _Note to self,_ he thought, _on the therapeutic value of making out…_

“Troublemaker,” Rhys murmured, smiling faintly. “You _know_ I don’t have the energy for that right now.”

“Yeah, well.” Vaughn squeezed Rhys’ left hand, which he was still holding. “Incentive to get better.”

“It’s not a matter of willpower, bro.”

“I know. But if I can keep sending good signals instead…maybe convince all that crap in your head to stop acting up…”

Vaughn let his lips brush _just_ slightly across the port. Rhys shivered. Vaughn could see his eyes dilate—the right going dark with it, the left growing brighter.

All those cybernetics were to blame for that headache in the first place, he knew it, but damn…they sure were something up close.

“I can stay here, anyway,” Vaughn said. “For, y’know. Boosting morale.”

Rhys snorted, flashing the briefest of looks down his own body—almost quickly enough to miss, but Vaughn could tell what he was getting at. “Is that what we’re calling it?”

“Pfft. I never said you had to get pervy about it.”

“I thought you liked it when I got pervy.”

Vaughn huffed out a laugh. So did Rhys, however tiredly. And even while Vaughn said, “We’ll save that for later,” Rhys curled up closer. Vaughn, without even a thought anymore for anything else he’d meant to get done that evening, relaxed into it and kept holding on.

“Thanks,” Rhys sleepily said.

“‘Course,” Vaughn, murmured.

And when Rhys’ eyes dimmed and drifted closed, his face looked finally at ease.

No, it wasn’t a cure, not exactly. But if it helped this much, Vaughn was more than willing to be there every time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Oh, what was the phrasing? "Sinful gayperion smut"? Yes, I do believe that was it. Well, then. ;)

Vaughn had always envied Rhys his confidence. Whether it was his enthusiasm about all his big ideas, or the sort of cockiness he’d put on when he needed to bolster his nerves—Vaughn could always tell the difference—Rhys was able almost every time to stride in, take charge, and get things the hell _done_. And for Vaughn, who was one of the only people Rhys confided in beforehand, seeing his more vulnerable, doubting side now and then before he psyched himself up again only made the results more impressive, really.

And if all that was true for Rhys at work, it went double for _this._

Because _this_ was Rhys getting past his worries about how to make a sexual relationship work between the two of them, and performing like a fucking _champ._

Vaughn had slowly been working his own confidence up that night when Rhys surprised him. He already had, it seemed, some _ideas_. And after an increasingly feverish round of making out, one that had given Vaughn more than a few ideas of his own, Rhys curtailed him with a soft little whisper. _My turn,_ he said. _You lie back. I’ve got you this time._ And Vaughn, wondering what he was up to, nodded anyway and did as he said, waiting to see what would happen as Rhys finished undressing them both.

The eventual result was Rhys swinging one long leg over him to straddle Vaughn’s hips, not _quite_ brushing up against his erection, but getting awfully close. And despite the intriguing proximity, Vaughn was stuck doing his best to keep his hands off, because Rhys had already threatened to tie them to the bed if Vaughn didn’t let Rhys drive. He’d said it in such a tone that Vaughn really had no idea if Rhys was joking—or what he actually felt about the idea himself, honestly, because he’d felt himself get even harder just at the implication. He kind of wanted to push Rhys again just to see what would happen. But for now he was holding off, because he didn’t want to interrupt the show. Rhys had just clicked open the tube of lubrication so he could slick up his fingers on the left hand—which was trembling just a little, Vaughn noticed—and reached behind himself to…well, honestly, whether or not the view was obscured, Vaughn knew perfectly well what he was doing. The pressure of those fingers made Rhys’ whole body bow and his mouth drop open, and his cock swelled just a little further, curving up toward his stomach.

Vaughn, who was trying to repress the urge to take Rhys in hand and _do_ something about that, heaved in a breath and gripped the sheets instead. It didn’t calm the pounding of his blood any, but at least it meant he got to keep watching as Rhys worked himself open bit by bit, rocking back on his fingers and outright writhing with it. Vaughn tried to focus on little details one by one, just to keep things from getting overwhelming: the sweat on Rhys’ forehead, the faint, flickering glow of his ECHO eye through lowered eyelashes, the strained lines of his tattoos as his arm flexed…

It worked, sort of, until his gaze dropped lower again, and then he just _wanted,_ which didn’t help at all. His own shoulders were pressing hard against the mattress as his body tensed up, and he was aching for touch in a few very particular, very insistent places. Finally he whispered, “Come _on_ , Rhys,” in a voice so heated he almost didn’t recognize it.

Rhys paused at that— _goddammit, Rhys keep going!_ —to give Vaughn a long look. Then a smile tilted his lips. It looked a little self-conscious, honestly, maybe even still a little nervous, but that wasn’t all there was to it. There was something so _determined_ in him, too, in the way that he was shifting himself into place. Vaughn was sure he’d never done this before—well, except maybe for practicing with those toys Vaughn was still pretending he didn’t know about, even if a few of his ideas earlier tonight had included them anyway—but Rhys was going at this like he had something to prove.

Vaughn wanted to tell him somehow that he didn’t have to prove _anything,_ that he already understood. But then Rhys started sinking down onto him, and that was it for coherency.

It was, for a moment, a slow, difficult slide. Rhys made a strained sound, his whole body shaking, before he adjusted a little, took his own advice from before and eased up. And then… _oh_. Vaughn heard him moan, but just barely, because he was doing exactly the same thing himself. Rhys was so tight around him, the heat of him unbelievable, and he was starting to move again, gingerly lifting up and—

Oh, _fuck,_ how did he learn to move his hips like that?

Vaughn made a noise he knew he wouldn’t be proud of later, but in that moment, he seriously didn’t care. And Rhys kept on moving, finding his rhythm. It began at a slow, sensual pace, and then a different sort of urgency crept in. Soon enough he was fucking himself steadily on Vaughn’s cock, and gaining confidence with every moment, with every sound their bodies made together, looking so goddamn _proud_ of himself for pulling this off that Vaughn had to answer it with _something_. He finally gave the hell in and gripped Rhys’ hips with both hands, rocking up to meet Rhys on every downthrust. And despite Rhys’ admonitions earlier to let him do all the work, he wasn’t protesting now. Neither of them were holding anything back anymore, and Vaughn was pretty damn sure he was about to leave bruises, but Rhys was groaning with such pleasure at it that he held on even tighter anyway.

And eventually, all that building tension had to break. As Rhys had probably intended, Vaughn was the first to go.

When it all became too much, Vaughn finally let out a shout and jolted his hips up, letting the sensation just flood over him. Rhys gasped out Vaughn’s name and tensed up all over, like he was trying to hold onto what he was feeling, too, for as long as he could. But it wasn’t long before he lost control, too. Vaughn watched him give a sudden little shudder, and he echoed Rhys’ moan as he came, feeling a strange, visceral little thrill at how it was spattering across his skin. And he kept on staring as Rhys slowly came back to himself afterward, his breathing shallow and rapid, his eyes still bright.

Their gazes met and held for a long, long moment while they were still tangled together like that, still holding on.

Finally, Rhys’ expression shifted into something more familiar—a real _I can’t believe we just did that_ sort of look. Vaughn couldn’t help but return the grin. Then, distantly remembering he ought to ease up his grip, he let go enough for Rhys to lever himself carefully free. The feeling when they parted left Vaughn breathless again. And it left him wanting, if he had to admit to it, to tug Rhys right back to him again.

After a minute he did exactly that.

Rhys fell into place with a surprised little _oomph,_ but he was smiling into it, too, when Vaughn kissed him. And so Vaughn gave that kiss his all, making it go long and deep and frankly a little bit dirty—because seriously, after all that, why the hell not.

And if Rhys still looked a little surprised—and impressed—at Vaughn’s confidence in that moment…well, two could play at that game, after all.

He was already looking forward to what that would mean for next time.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: "Vaughn/Rhys, their first quiet moment together after everything. Rhys always had a... thing for Vaughn's abs and now he's utterly fascinated by the beard."
> 
> As written, this is actually a bit of a coda to [The Spaces We Share](http://archiveofourown.org/works/5215766), told from Rhys' perspective.

Rhys woke once that night, but not, to his surprise, from a nightmare this time.

He hadn’t exactly admitted to Vaughn how troubled his sleep had been lately, or how haunted he’d been ever since Helios. But tonight—on the verge of crazy, dangerous plans that by any measure ought to mess with _anyone’s_ sleep—he’d been sleeping peacefully.

On one hand, it made no sense. But being curled around Vaughn like this again probably had something to do with it.

Vaughn was sleeping easily, too, which made Rhys wonder what had even roused him at all. But he wasn’t sure that it mattered much. He just relaxed into the quiet, letting his hand rest on Vaughn’s stomach as his he gently breathed in and out. For one thing, it was lulling. For another…damn, Vaughn was fit these days. It was impressive. Rhys let his fingers spread out, feeling the ridges of his muscles, and he hummed a little under his breath, not quite able to suppress the thought of how good it would feel to _really_ have sex with him again.

Of course, their timing being what it was, that prospect still depended on making it through those crazy, dangerous plans. Rhys flinched at the thought, but responded to it all by holding on tighter. _Just…call it extra incentive to get out of it alive, right?_ he thought.

Right. Simple.

Rhys sighed into Vaughn’s hair, then let his hand drift up and touch Vaughn’s face instead.

He still marveled a little at the beard. Vaughn had joked a couple times about growing one—it had come up as far back as college, now that Rhys thought about it—but he’d never quite gone for it, even though he’d reminded Rhys with regularity that he _totally could._ He was doing it to yank Rhys’ chain, since _his_ attempts at any sort of facial hair had been utterly hopeless. Vaughn, though, hadn’t been kidding about his own chances. He looked good like this, like he’d always been meant to grow into this look. _Very manly,_ Rhys had said earlier. It had come out like a joke, but he’d meant it, too.

Vaughn had grown into himself in so many ways down here on Pandora. Rhys couldn’t help but regret that he’d missed so much of it.

But he was here now, at least for a little while. At least for _this_.

And this included Vaughn rousing under his touch, turning his head and murmuring, still half-asleep, “Rhys?”

Rhys jumped a little, but Vaughn didn’t look upset. “Yeah,” Rhys answered at last. “It’s just me.”

Vaughn nodded faintly, then looked up, his eyes bright in the darkness. They watched each other for a while, not saying anything, letting their breathing fall into rhythm again. Finally Rhys said apologetically, “Didn’t mean to wake you. You should go back to sleep.”

Vaughn hummed. “S’okay,” he said. “I don’t mind.”

And there was something about that low, sleepy voice that made it impossible not to bend down and kiss him.

It was warm, easy, leaving Rhys pleasantly flushed but not in an urgent sort of way. And when it ended, Vaughn shifted a little on the mattress, lying flat this time and tugging Rhys in so his head rested on Vaughn’s chest. Rhys sighed again, feeling the steady beat of Vaughn’s heartbeat beneath him.

Oh, he’d _missed_ this.

“Planning on keeping me here all night?” he teased when Vaughn’s arm anchored itself around Rhys’ shoulders.

“Mmm-hmm,” was the contented reply.

“Just…tell me if I make your arm fall asleep or something.”

At that, Vaughn just chuckled. It felt so nice that Rhys nuzzled in, smiling to himself. Vaughn’s fingers went to his hair then, gently stroking. And he wondered what Vaughn was thinking about in that moment, but that question, too, had no real urgency. Rhys just let the feeling of it all settle deep into him, let himself begin to drowse again.

And he didn’t hear what Vaughn whispered to him right as he fell asleep, but his dreams were filled with it anyway, right on up until morning.


End file.
